The World Has Turned and Left me Here
by aChickNamedHamlet
Summary: There's another mutant bird child in town. Avery. She's stronger, faster, and more capable than ever imagined. As her story unfolds, Max and the flock discover something more vile and sinister going down at Itex then they could have ever dreamt of.
1. Fight or Flight

A/N: This story's title is based on the song by Weezer. If you haven't heard it go shoot yourself in the foot. That is all.

* * *

I take a large savage bite of rat and survey my surroundings. Trees. Pines. Lots of them. All of them hundreds of feet down. The sun is just setting, casting oranges and pinks into the shadows of the huge Cliffside. As I watch a flock of birds flutter upwards, startled by something down below in the distance. Nothing of a threat to me, I am so high up, my little cave nearly at the top of the cliffs. I wonder musingly if it would even faze me if there were a threat out there. It seems so long and tedious staying hidden; maybe I would quite enjoy a fight. For sure I would win. My rocklike muscles would be no match for any predator this area could provide me. My lengthy blue white and black wings could batter and wound easily, making them lethal weapons. My strength is even greater than Max's.

As if she knew. As if she cared. As if any of them cared about anybody accept themselves. They probably didn't even remember me anymore. Poor little Avery. The _other_ mutant bird child. Oh no, she doesn't matter a damn thing.

I bite into my cheek, my fists curling. No. It's not their fault. I'm smarter than Ari. I know it's not their fault. It's that horrible Jeb's fault. He could care less about anybody else. Just his darling Max. Darling Max and her darling 'family'. Idiots all of them. We're mutant freaks for Gods' sake! Does that not tell you anything? We're genetically engineered. We do not have 'family'.

My sharp nails dig in to the flesh of my palm, drawing blood, but I continue to press into them. I will not hold a grudge against them. I will not! I'm not Ari. I'm not evil. I will only be mad at those who deserve my fury. _Jeb_!

Didn't I mean anything to anyone? No, not ever. Not since the day I was born. Always. I didn't mean anything to my birth parents, who just gave me away. Did they care that the white coats were going to experiment on me? Mutate me? Make me into this _thing_? No, they didn't.

And what about the white coats themselves? Do they even have feelings? I don't think so. Shooting me up with random drugs to test how my body filters poisons and toxins. Making me fly with weights strapped to my feet. Zapping the soles of my feet to see how fast I could run.

I shudder and turn my face down to my palm. I'm now gushing blood onto the cave floor. I stare at the blood for a moment.

Then out loud I say, "That's for all those people who cared for me."

I jump out of the cave, unfurling my wings as I fall, and take a powerful wind stroke towards the setting sun.

Itex's latest monstrous creations will probably be back at my cave sniffing my DNA in less than two hours' time. It was a bonehead move. And for who? No one. Like always, I'm all on my own.


	2. First and Second

**MPOV**

"Max,"

Max turned at the sound of her voice being called. Iggy stood there, his brow furrowed above his blank eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"Look South East. Is there something there? A big bird maybe. A Flyboy?"

Max followed his empty gaze, in which she could almost see the frustrated struggle to see. A large rock formation rose high above the ground. It seemed to go up through the clouds, forever and ever.

It had been the Flock's destination for weeks. Again Fang had proposed they make a permanent home. This time, though, Max couldn't avoid it. There was no chaos to stop them. And seeing the Flocks' pleading eyes had almost broken her heart. Maybe they were right. It wasn't their world to save. Maybe they should, for once in their lives, think about themselves first.

Max's ultra heightened vision probed the sky. It didn't take long to see what Iggy's incredible hearing had picked up on. A large black silhouette streaked across the sky, it's ginormous wings seemed to sweep away the sky beneath them as the sun fell further and further down the horizon.

It wasn't a bird, that's for sure. It's wingspan was at least 14 ft. And there were odd angles in it that no bird could ever have. It was a mutant. But it just couldn't be a Flyboy. No Flyboy she'd ever seen flew that gracefully.

And, also, there was something so...real about it. There's no way that could be a robot. No way it could have so little emotion. For every stroke it took, it's emotions seemed to be written out clearly across the sky. Max could see pain, abandonment, loneliness. Just how she felt sometimes.

"So?" Iggy asked, impatient, obvious sourness at not being able to identify the creature himself covered his face.

"Uh...Well it's a mutant for sure...but I can't really tell what it is, if you catch my drift."

Iggy blinked.

"Well...I don't think it's a Flyboy," Max said slowly, "There's just no way it could be a robot. But...well it's got about 14 ft wings and it's got a human body. I just don't know if it's a good guy or a bad guy."

"So." Iggy said knowingly, as if he knew a secret that Max didn't understand.

"So what?" Max asked.

"So, are we gunna go check it out or what."

"What about the Flock?" asked Max, mind never too far from super mother-hood mode.

"We'll leave Fang in charge."

Things seemed switched. Iggy and Max going on an adventure and Fang staying to mind the Flock. It was usually the other way around. Then again, Iggy had seemed more and more anxious to make his part in the Flock more...pronounced. Lately he seemed more mature, and Max guessed he also wanted more mature responsibilities. Wanted to be let in on the big mutant bird kid games. Well, Iggy was only a few months younger than them...maybe this was his turn to shine, the ability to see or not.

"Um...o-okay. I guess." Max said.

When they got to the group of trees where the Flock was camping for the night, Fang was sitting in a small circle with Angel and Nudge, Gazzy was up high in a tree tinkering with a brown sack. Max didn't want to ask.

As they got closer they caught what Fang was saying.

"...So you have to gut it first. Otherwise you get all this disgusting stringy stuff in your rat, and you don't want that. It has to be sort of crispy, with a little bit of chewiness. If there is too much juicyness then you know you've done it wrong. Rat is in no way supposed to taste like food. Oh, and you've got to be sure to take out the veins, otherwise they burst and release this horrible tasting rat blood everywhere."

"Ewwwww!" Nudge and Angel squealed in unision.

"That's disgusting." Nudge said.

At that moment she looked up and saw Max and Iggy standing there.

"Maaaaax," Nudge complained, " Fang is teaching us all his '_superior inteligence'" _she made quotation marks in the air, "About cooking rats. It's disgusting. Make him stop."

"Yeah!" Angel chimed in, "And make him stop acting so full of himself. He can eat vermin. How wonderful! Meanwhile some of us can do useful things."

"Oi! That is _out of line_!" Fang exclaimed. His face, as always though, stayed nearly expressionless. It was sort of freaky how he could do that.

"That's enough you guys." Max said. "Fang, don't talk about the fine art of gutting rats in front of these lovely ladies and don't use the word 'oi' ever again. If you've noticed we're not from England." Fang opened his mouth in a _How dare you_ sort of grimace. "And Angel, don't make Fang feel bad because you have more powers than him. It's wounding to his ego."

Fang glared at her, and Max smiled. She then started shuffling Angel and Nudge off to bed, or more suitable, off to tree.

After she got Gazzy to put down the brown sack and Nudge, Angel and him fell off into a light sleep, Max turned back to Fang, who was still shooting torpedoes at her with his eyes.

"Fang, you're in charge tonight okay?"

Fang looked off into the distance, arms crossed over his chest defiantly. Max couldn't help giggling. He looked just like a little boy who had been denied ice cream.

Fang looked back at her, his expression softening, arms dropping to his sides.

"Aren't I always in charge?" Fang asked teasingly.

"Nah. You're always _co_ in charge. But tonight me and Iggy are going out. You're gunna have to man the fort, kay?"

Fang's face slipped for a moment, and then it turned into the neutral mask that is standard Fang.

"Where you guys going?" he asked. He tried to keep his voice emotionless, but Max could hear the wounds behind his words.

Max looked back at Iggy. He sensed her gaze and shook his head. He wanted to keep this a secret from Fang. Max felt torn. On one side she felt she owed this to Iggy for all the times when Fang and her had left him behind. On the other side there was a tug in her heart for Fang. It was their thing to go sneaking off into the night. Maybe he would feel like he was being replaced.

Max momentarily wondered if that wouldn't be a good thing. To put him off. Lately Max had been feeling confused on the Fang situation. Maybe it would be better to stop these weird feelings before they became full fledged. Maybe it would be safer that way. Or maybe her and Fang were really meant to be together...

But she owed it to Iggy. How many times had it been that they had had to leave him in charge of the Flock? Anyways, Fang would find out as soon as they got back what they had been to see. _If_ they got back.

"Sorry Fang," Max said, "That's top secret information."


	3. Phillip

**APOV**

Flying is absolutely, undoubtedly the _best_ possible thing about being a mutant freak. It's more than just the exhilarating sensation of being lifted off the ground. No, modern society has technology for that. It is the freedom of it all. Nobody can hold you back in the air. You are as free as anything else is nature. You _become_ nature. And it seems as if "the great scheme of things" just falls together, and you're a piece in this big puzzle. Flying is fitting in when for the rest of my life, I am an outsider. It is freedom.

My wings catch the wind easily, my toned upper arm muscles using little strain to keep me aloft.

At one point a little while after I was first on the run from The School, I had camped out on a precipice very close to the nests of these huge birds. I don't know much about birds. Well, face it; I actually know nothing about birds, being raised in a dog crate and all, so I can't identify the species for you. But they were the most bon digity shit you'd ever seen. They were fantastic. They barely even shifted the hairs on the ends of their feathers and then they were suddenly going in a totally different direction or otherwise decreasing altitude rapidly. They could coast for ages, when back then I was lucky if I could coast for long on a thermal if at all.

They astonished me. I spent many weeks studying them. Every single detail. Now, because of them, my flying skills are impeccable. I can glide for ages; do the same feather shift thing that the huge birds could. I can even land totally gracefully, which, for me, is an incredible feat.

Unfortunately Erasers ambushed me and that was the end of that.

No. Before you even ask, no. They didn't send me back to the School. It's me remember? Super strong, fast, and if I do say so myself the smartest person alive.

I smile to myself. Of course I'm complimenting myself. Who else is there to do that for me? It's pathetic.

"You really have to stop doing that you know," I told myself. "I mean, the being pathetic thing. It gets on my nerves a bit. You know _I_ particularily think I have potential. You know. So maybe I should stop moping and being needy and disappointing and become you know...WonderWoman with wings. I'm telling you buddy, it would be cool."

I paused in thought.

"Yeah...that's actually a pathetic idea. I thought I told you not to be like that anymore. Well I guess talking to yourself is kind of like that to. Pitiful. Pathetic. Sad. You name it. Well, I like talking to myself anyways. I could forget the language if I don't talk to someone. And I'm the only one around. Might as well make the most of it. And anyways. I've always thought of myself as an okay person to be around. You know. A bit of a chip on my shoulder, but I'm okay. And I like me too. So we're friends for life then. Agreed."

I imaginarily shook hands with myself.

I was heading towards the setting sun, going an easy six or seven hundred kilometres an hour. There was some strain to my muscles but not to much. I knew in a few hours I'd need to take a break, but the 

last thing I needed was those flyboys catching up to me. I mentally calculated and figured if I flew a bit faster I might make it to the next city (a good hour at the current speed) before all the shops closed. My stomach growled angrily. Yeah, I had to step it up a notch. I severely needed to root up some grub.

I sped up.

* * *

A/N: Okay, just so you don't get confused I named this chapter after that one Tom Hanks movie where he's a FedEx guy who's stranded on an island and he goes insane all by himself and his only friend is a volleyball who he was supposed to be shipping before he got stranded. The Volleyball's name was Phillip. What's the name of that movie? I can't remember.


	4. Shhh!

"Whoa! Who spiked this thing's captain crunch?" Max asked in complete astonishment. "The freak's going as fast as a plane!"

"Ick, planes," Iggy said with distaste. "Freakin' economic disasters just waiting to be taken over by terrorists. They scream to be crashed into large buildings."

Remembering their experiences in Europe on the huge flying sardine cans, Max said, "They're not so bad. They get you places for sure. Not everybody has the convenience of built in wings."

"_Convenience_," Iggy muttered darkly.

"The point _is_," Max said with a slightly irritated tone, "The thing is obviously on some sort of illegal drug substance that can somehow make it fly that fast. That is just wrong."

"Maybe it's got powers like you do," Iggy suggested.

"I was just coming to that conclusion!" Max exclaimed.

"Great minds think alike."

"Since when did you have a mind?"

"Can we just _go_! Our little speedster is getting away."

"Okay, hold on," Max said, grabbing Iggy's hand. Suddenly they were shooting off after the strange thing.

Fang, still on the ground, watched them fly away with a disappointed expression. He had no hopes of following them now.

Back up in the air Max and Iggy had outflown the Speedster. They were tucked in the crook of a tall tree waiting for it to catch up.

Max watched its wing strokes in awe. In no way did she consider herself an expert on birds, which is odd since she _should_ be, given the circumstances and everything, but she knew that this thing was graceful as hell with a whole lot of upper arm strength. By the way the shoulder blades were moving, by the easy acceleration, the swift dips and turns as it seeped through thermals, Max knew for certain that this wasn't a special power that the thing was resortring on. When it came to her own speed, Max could pretty much choose left, right, up, down. With this creature it was...somehow circular. Able to move and go any direction. Free from gravities slight and futile pulls that were usually aimed at wings. The creature seemed so..._free_. Of course Max felt free in the skies too, but this was somehow just...different. Better somehow. Magical. Incredible. Enviable.

As it got closer Max could make out features and colours.

"It's got blue wings," she described to Iggy, "And there's a bit of black and white in it too. It...I'm pretty sure it's a girl. Her hair is kind of shoulder length long. It's black and in curly little ringlets. She looks 

really skinny. She's wearing black everything. I think it's just a sweater and jeans. She looks kind of...chesty," Max frowned, "And I can't really see that well but it looks like she's got green eyes."

Iggy bit his lip like he was restraining from speaking. After a few long minutes he asked quietly, "how chesty?"

Max hit him hard on the back of the head. "You sexist pig! That is so degrading and demoralizing to women! Don't you have any respect? YOU. ARE. SICK!"

"_Max!"_ Iggy hissed.

"Don't you _Max_ me! How dare you! You have no value for the female population. I bet you would get excited if we dressed a chimpanzee up in a skirt!"

"_Max!"_ Iggy insisted again and he threw a hand over her mouth. She licked it and he winced but wrestled her into a headlock to keep quiet.

"Just _shut up_ Max! It's heard us now!"

Max felt very much like a little girl hiding under her covers at night to keep away the monsters. She was certain that if she kept very still, the thing would go away. Every movement of her head made her feel condemned to a certain death as she slowly turned her head around, only to see...

Nothing.

The skies were completely clear. Max disentangled herself from Iggy, eyes darting around frantically.

"Iggy," she hissed, but before she could get the rest of her sentence out, she was slammed skywards by a million trucks to her stomach.


	5. Its a bird, its a plane, its SUPERWOMAN!

"You sexist pig! That is so degrading and demoralizing to women! Don't you have any respect? YOU. ARE. SICK!"

My head snapped to the sound. A few hundred yards away there was ruffling and noises coming from a tree. I didn't even need to think it. I could smell it, taste it even in the air. My ears instantly placed the sound with the face. And even by the time that these factors localized themselves with my mind, I was on to the next action. I was already make a steep dive into the underbrush. Picking up even more speed (my breathing was starting to get heavy) and dodging tree after tree after branch after branch after bush after bush. I swirved and rolled , all completely silent. It wasn't until after I had dodged a tree that my mind officially sent the message to my limbs. I was working solely on instinct. I couldn't think.

As I got closer, I dive bombed the floor, sweeping my wings out everyh so slightly at an angle that kept all of my momentum in with out crashing. I was on the floor, my sneakers pounding as loudly as a feather falling on the moon. Ahead of me there was a rock.

I didn't even think twice about it. I ran twice as hard, using all my force and used the rock as leverage. My wings went straight out behind me, working as the tail of a dart. I bent my head, using my shoulders to pummel Max into oblivion.

It seemed time froze and I waited moments, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, eons for Max's form to fall back to me. I gave her a good round house kick that sent her flying into a nearby tree. She slid down it, unconscious.

Something ripped painfully down my back. There was an abrupt stinging pain as raw tissues hit air. I turned and threw a traditional one two, quick as lightening, to the chin and then the stomach. Iggy fell to the forest floor.

I turned back breathing hard, adrenaline pumping through my veins like fire. My eyes seemed to bulge out of my own head. My muscles felt too big. Too strong. And then I my thoughts caught up with me. I realized, almost to a point that it hurt, that I had just knocked both Max and Iggy out. That I'd done wrong. I'd done the thing I said I wouldn't do. I'd restrained myself so long, kept on telling myself it wasn't their fault, wasn't their fault. It was all Jeb, the flock didn't do anything to me. But as soon as the slightest notion—slightest _chance_ to hurt them came up, I took it. Like a shark smelling blood. I hadn't been able to help it. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. I'd screwed up, Oh my god what was I going to _do_? Did I kill them? Were they _dead_? And that woul make me a murderer? Am I a murderer?

There was a crash, and the world went black.


	6. He frowns like a cheshire cat, sort of

Max's head was a pounding hurricane. Cold winds blew through it, followed by heated fire. Blood rushed past her ears in a steady beat. _B-bump, b-bump, b-bump._ Two of her ribs were screaming bloody murder and were most likely broken. The firey pain that zipped through her with every small movement was excrutiating. All her bones were bridle. Breakable. She was bruised from head to toe. Especially large bruises covered her back and arms. Flying by herself would have been enough to have me screaming in pain. Flying with the added weight of the strange mutant girl was enough to make her want to die. She was in so much pain that she couldn't scream. Couldn't make a sound. Could barely breathe. Her vision kept on fading, going white and then bursting into colour again. If Iggy hadn't been helping her carry she wouldn't know up from down. But he was steadily guiding, following his smell and hearing to the flock.

If it hadn't been for Iggy, she didn't know what would have happened. She was just starting to stir, coming from the grasping clawing hands of the darkness. She could barely see in front of her. And suddenly, so rapidly that she barely saw it, Iggy leaped up, snapped one of the hugest branches off the tree and hit the bird-girl right in the back of the head. She was out cold in a moment, sagging on the tree. Iggy had looked in Max's direction. "Max? Are you alright?"

"No, not really," she'd said. He'd helped her to her feet and they'd made their slow labored progress to the girl. Max turned her over so she was lying on her back instead of her side. She was wearing a black sweatshirt with the word **Radiohead** written in simple grey and white letters across the front. The pants were thrift store black jeans that had rips at the knee and cuffs. Erratic curly black hair tumbled every which way. Her shoes were simple black sneakers. She had her ears pierced. Two at the lobe, one half way up the right ear and a stud in her nose. Iggy flpped her to her stomach. They looked at the wings. Iggy ran his hands through the feathers. "Blue, black, white, more blue, blue..." he muttered to himself, seeing all the colours with his special power.

After a while he'd asked, "Does she have Blue Jay's wings?"

"It looks like it," Max replied.

They took a sit down for a while, talking about their next action. they finally decided to take the bird-girl home.

"If anything, she's one of us. She's _like_ us. I need to know more." said Iggy

Max looked worried. "Well, we'll take her back, but this is a decision the whole flock should talk about together. I'm not going to risk anything."

They agreed and bound her with Willow branches they found by a nearby river.

They ended up where they were now, flying back to the flock's camp. Through all the pain Max couldn't help but feel nervous. How would the flock take it? Would they be mad at Max for even trying to bring something like this close to them? It could be a white coat. One of _them_. Looks can be deceiving. _And,_ Max had reasoned_, She had just tried to kill me. If that's not a big hint then I don't know what is._ But worse was that maybe the flock would like her. Maybe she would become part of the flock. But who was she? 

What was she like? Would she be better to the flock than Max was? Would they like her better? Who was this strange girl in her arms?

Max could only think of one thing to do to find out. And maybe that would lead to her demise. She'd never been this curious about anything before. Sure, she'd had her days. Man, she went through sewage tunnels and swamps and not to mention crazy flying demon dogs that are actually metallic robots in the name of curiosity. And saving the world, but let's put that out of ourminds for a moment. The poit was, this seemed infinately more risky. It was a human. Or at least partially. If there was one thing Max knew about humans was that they couldn't be trusted. Not a single one of them. And worst of all, this was a _strong_ human. One capable of grinding Max into pixie dust with her elbow and then reconfiguring her into a tasty pot roast, which she will then eat and use an Iggy or Fang or Gazzy or (_no!)_ Angel sized tooth-pick to pick Max's shriveled, ripped, pulverized pieces out of her teeth.

_Over reacting a bit there, aren't we Max? You've got to learn to trust_

Can't The Voice at least learn to knock before entering?

_You,_ Max thought with distaste.

Voice ignored her.

_You need to trust this girl Max. She'll help you to save the world. It's all part of the big picture._

_More of the big picture deal? Enough of this! _

_Max_

_What if I don't trust her?_

_Do you want to die?_

_Is that a threat?_

_Not to sound cliche, but it's a promise. Or it is if you don't save the world. And it won't be just you. Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, Loverboy--ahem-- Fang. he whole world. Millions of innocents. Just because you couldn't swallow your I-can't-trust-a-breathing-being act for one minute._

_What act?! I just don't trust her, okay?_

_Fine, kill the world. It's okay, i'm sure nobody will take it personally. We all know that you being selfish and paranoid is a good enough reason for the careless sacrifice of a whole planet. But--nope!--don't let me stop you! Go riiight ahead!_

Max looked down at the girl she and Iggy were supporting. Could it really hurt?

_I hate _you

The Voice was silent after that. She really did hate it.

In the back of her mind she was sure she heard a distant chuckle.

* * *

When they got back to camp everyone was asleep. Which was odd. Fang did a horrible job as leader if he didn't even assign somebody to be on watch.

Max and Iggy quietly lowered the girl into an overhanging where she wouldn't be seen. Iggy crept off and came back withsome industrial rope (you must always be prepared when you are a bird-kid on the run, no more raised eyebrows) and they silently bound her to the tree. For good measure Max tied a bandana around her mouth so she was bound and gagged, like in a cop movie.

Iggy raised his eyeborws at her.

"What? I'm nothing if not thorough."

He shrugged and did the crazy signal by his temple. Max made a rude hand gesture at him.

"I just flipped you the bird Ig--Wha!" She whisper-screeched as she tripped over a rootand fell right into Iggy. He caught her laughing.

"Clumsy much?"

"Shut up!" she said giggling too.

Just at that moment Fang apparated out of thin air on a branch in the tree above them. He was like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. But it was his frown that showed up first,not his smile, followed by a dark and upset looking face and long black hair...you know what he looks like.

He composed himself in a bored aexpression. "What are you two doing?"


	7. It's a Devil called Angel

I woke up in a cold sweat. My dreams had been the same as many other nights. First the colours that would all swirl together, like pouring different paints into a can. Reds, blacks, greens, purples. All devilishly swirling, swirling, swirling. And then the sounds. The screams. The cries of pain. The sound of metal meeting metal in a menacing way. The sounds of rustling feathers and frantically flapping wings. Of dogs barks and cats mews. All mixed in with human sounds. Human whimpers, human cries of dread and horror. More metal slashing sounds. The faint _zzzt!_ off in the distance of a zapper and flesh meeting. The sound of computer keys running on and on in their own evergoing rhythm. _Tap, tap, click, clack, cluck, tap, tip, tap_. The sounds of monotonous words...diagnostics, charts, scanners, implements, tests. They would drawl on and on and on in the same bland voices, mulling together into an ocean wave of grey and white and _blah_. Then the smells would come. Plastics. Antiseptics. Metals. Steel, stainless steel. The smells of medicine. As if somebody had just taken a bucket labelled medicines and dumped all over the entire place, trying to cover up what really aweful smells hid beneath. And scariest of all—the smell of cheap polyester cotton blend. Bleached and ironed, with pens in the chest pockets and little labels that read _Dr. . _The smell followed by a swish of fabrics brushing floor, and the monotonous voices would get louder. And then they would call my name. _"Avery...it's feeding time."_

"No!" I screamed, jolting at the shear memory.

"Yes," a voice whispered, breath on my ear.

I whipped around and nearly gave myself whip-lash. I tried to sit up but couldn't. My hands and feet were tightly bound. My stomach had an enormous weight on it. There was a cloth wrapped around my mouth that I nearly choked on. I worked my mouth around a few time gagging a bit to get the cloth from suffocating me. There were wet pieces of my hair hanging in my eyes and I shook my head frantically trying to move them so I could move. I tried to sniff the air but I couldn't get a lock on any sent. Just an overwhelming aroma of gun powder. The School had never smelled like gun powder before. It only ever smelt like antiseptics and stainless steel.

Unless you were in one of the testing rooms.

I gave a muffled scream and struggled my hardest against the unseen binds. I was flailing out in all directions. Trying to escape. Or at least trying to make it difficult for the white-coats to control me.

I squirmed and kicked and stretched and turned and screamed and screamed and screamed.

"Calm down!" somebody yelled. It was a young voice. I didn't focus on it. Maybe they were recruiting new members. I barely listened to the voice.

"No!" I screamed again, muffled and contorted by the cloth. I bit down on the cloth. I pulled it back and ripped it and chewed it and bit it until it fell from my mouth.

"Let me go! LET ME GO!" I screamed.

Something hard and fast hit me on the face. My head jerked back for a moment and then I kicked in its direction. At the moment I was blinded by fear. I forced it away, mentally telling myself to see! I looked and looked hard, my brain working overtime unlocking whichever protections it set up against my sight. I screamed at myself inside my head. I control my sight. Open your eyes! Open your eyes!

My eyes flew open. In a sense anyways. More like the blurry shapes around me became clear and I could focus on each individual object.

There was a 'oof!' sound as my foot made contact with someone's stomach but they came back at me, holding my feet down.

I looked down at my feet. I could barely see a long mane of jet black hair before another figure was standing in front of me.

"STOP IT! What do we look like, punching bags?" It wasn't her words that stopped me. They were useless against my rage and confusion. Instead it was her face. Max.

Her hair was a more brownish than I remembered but there were lots of blond highlights.

"Max?" I asked thickly.

Everything seemed to freeze. The person on my legs' grip loosened. The people on my arms were stupid enough to let go completely. They were all idiots. I ripped the bonds on my hands and legs apart, throwing whoever was on my legs up into the air. I pounced upwards and landed on my feet. There was a dull thump on as I landed and another a second later as a black form that I realized was Fang landed in a heap beside me. My instincts and my brain was at war.

Don't hurt Max, she didn't do anything to you.

Got to move. Got to get out of here. Got to eliminate the threat.

Get Jeb. Jeb did this to you. He's the wrong one!

Quickly while he's still on the ground, move behind him. He'll be leverage. They won't hurt me when I have him. I'll snap his neck in a second. 

Don't!

I stood there panting slightly, thinking, calculating, y heart beating frantically.

Suddenly a little girl came up to me. Her face was curios. She had a little dog at her feet and a bear in her hand. He was the most innocent thing I'd ever seen. I didn't like her.

"Angel!" Iggy whispered harshly.

Angel ignored him. "Sit down," she told me calmly. Demandingly. It was an eerie in-control voice that I didn't expect a–what like four-year-old—to have. It was like the white-coats sounded. I shuddered. What an evil little child.

I wanted to sit down. I really did. Something in me was screaming for me to sit down. I crossed my arms and cocked my head at the little demon.

"Stop that or I'll break your arms," I said simply.

"No you wo--!" Max began, outraged, but Angel held up a hand to quiet her.

The need to sit stopped in my head and I straightened up. I never realized that I had begun to slouch lower and lower, not very noticeably, from the pressure of wanting, no, needing, to sit down.

'Can you hear me?' Angel asked. Her lips didn't move. Somehow I knew that she was in my mind.

Dunno, I thought, can you hear me?

'it's hard. You're brain is really...muddy kind of, when everyone else's is like water.'

Thank-you. I like hearing that my brain is like mud. I rolled my eyes.

'You're pretty,' Angel stated.

Is that supposed to make me forgive the mud comment?

She smiled broadly.

'You should.' Then she crinckled her nose. 'you're a runaway like us. You're like us. We could help each other. You just can't hurt us, okay? We could really be a good team.' She said.

I know how I could help you, but I don't see it the other way around.

'We have powers. We're special too, just like you. Max can fly super fast, as fast as you if she really tries and if she practices. Fang can disappear when he's still. Iggy can hear things from a really far way away and he can feel colours. He's also a math genius and can pretty much break any code. Gazzy smells like a stink bomb and he is good at making bombs. Nudge is really good with computers. Like really good. And she can attract metal. I can kind-of shape shift, talk to fish, breath under water, read minds, and make people do what I want them to. Total is growing wings and he can talk. We could really help you. We could find your friend with you.'

I was taken aback at how much they could do, and about Angel mentioning my 'friend'. I pondered for a moment. Could they really help me? Could we help eachother? Could we find Paris?

Could Paris be found?


End file.
